The Hopeful
by KiraDN
Summary: There had been strange rumors spreading throughout the villages. Various hanyous have been kidnapped at a crucial point during their lives. Kagome and the others are worried, especially since Inuyasha could be next. Who is the kidnapper?


The Hopeful

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters in the show. I am merely using them to create a story from my own imagination. If you think I copied or something, I probably never read the story since I rarely do read Inuyasha fics. I own Aijou though.

Chapter One

Rumors Across the Lands

A small child sniffed as he walked across the forested grounds. His tears flowed like river, sparkling like the morning dew with each step he took. The beautiful strands of aquamarine hair swayed along with the breeze and dazzling teal eyes stared at the infinite forest. He was a mere half water demon, a hanyou. He was a hanyou with no place to go, no place to call home, no one to love him.

Kaiyou was the product of the love between Reika, a beautiful woman with an open mind, and Arashi, the great youkai of the seas.

Like all half demons, he endured the discrimination and hatred from both races, youkai and human. Kaiyou's father was killed right after his mother's impregnation. His mother had been taken as a slave to the nearby noble. He had felt so helpless, so useless. He was half demon, half WATER demon and he had no strength against the thugs that sold her. A few days later after his first several attempts to break in, the villagers began to speak of a woman the lord had taken. She had died from pain, the pain from all the torturing by the noble. His mind was blank, shocked from the news.

He had nothing now.

So he ran, ran away from the cruel village that despised him for his existence. He ran from his painful past, ran from his birthplace, ran from the lord's castle.

He ran from his memories.

No amount of physical pain inflicted by the locals could have matched the pain in his heart. It was throbbing, twisting. It was completely shattered.

"Haha-ue..." Kaiyou muttered, allowing his pain to be freed through his tears. He finally stopped his trek and collapsed in the middle of the woods. There wasn't anything he could do, nothing. He continued to sob until he felt warm, silky arms wrap around his trembling body. For the first time for days, he had felt something so foreign, so unfamiliar.

Yet... he knew what it was.

Love, hope, warmth, acknowledgement, peace.

All of this filled Kaiyou's cold little body. He turned around and gasped at the sight.

"_Come with me and I'll save you from this world_."

Words said with such emotion had affected him. He was entranced by the bewitched melodic voice. What a beautiful voice.

Maybe he should...

* * *

Kagome Higurashi walked back from her tiring day of school. She couldn't study all too much back in the Feudal era. After all, who can with Inuyasha moaning and groaning about the Shikon no Kakera? Anyways, Hojo-sempai had also tried to get her on a date. Fortunately she remembered Inuyasha's gruff promise that if she did not return in 3 days then he would destroy the so-called school of her's.

She had felt extremely bad when she turned down his offer. Hojo-sempai was such a nice upperclassman. But he's so naïve. He had truly believed her grandfather's horrible lies?

The raven haired girl sighed, deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Her friends had also bothered her about 'the jealous boyfriend'. They mean well, but they just don't understand that they both have to work together to gather all of the Shikon no Kakera that was scattered to the four winds.

"Tadaima!" she called out as she entered the shrine she called home. Her grandfather muttered a greeting as he struggled on his most recent sutra. Her kid brother played with Buyo, the fat cat. "Mama, I'm home."

The mother turned around and kindly welcomed her daughter. "How was school? Didn't you have that math test today?" she asked, stirring the large pot of soup with the ladle. Kagome groaned at the question.

"Yea I did. I didn't do so well though. I can't really study hard if there are youkai left and right, you know?" Kagome muttered. She had wisely left out the more... violent events that had happened as she complained to her mother. "Mama, did you get everything ready for tomorrow?"

Mrs. Higurashi gave her eldest daughter the brightest smile she could make. "Why of course. I packed some extra special things for you and your friends, especially that cute dog-eared boy." She giggled as she remembered the adorable fuzzy ears as Kagome slightly reddened.

"Uh, sure mama. I guess I'll go back early, so Inuyasha won't bother me about it." Kagome said, grabbing the handle of her very large backpack. She couldn't risk getting the school getting blown up by a Kaze no Kizu. Plus, she sort of missed Inuyasha...

...and Shippo, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara of course.

"Baibai mama, jiichan, 'totochan!" Kagome shouted before she headed towards the well.

* * *

"Ah, greetings Yamazaki-san." Miroku said, bowing to the old man. He nodded in affirmation and bowed stiffly back. "How are you doing this day?"

"My back's acting up agin, but I suppose I'm no yung'un. Me granddaughter, Yuki, helped me lots. How's bout you, sonny?" Yamazaki asked, rubbing his aching spine.

"It's been quiet, so it's been quite nice. Say, how is Yuki doing on this fine day?" the monk asked, grinning just slightly in a perverted way. Fortunately (or unfortunately) the old man did not notice it.

"She's been very good. Quite healthy and bee-yoo-tee-ful. Hope she meets a young feller like youse." He said. Miroku finally widened his smile. A fellow like him, eh?

"My, when can I meet your grand daughter?" he asked, eagerly awaiting for his answer.

"Well, she's at the ol' house back there. Why, ya's wanna meet her?" he questioned, looking at Miroku curiously.

"Why, I want to know every member of this village, Yamazaki-san." Miroku wisely said, leaving out the bit about asking her to bear his children. "Come now. Let's go- OUCH!" Before he could go and meet Yuki, Sango had grabbed his ear.

"Yuki, huh? Sorry, houshi-sama, but you have to go back. Inuyasha is getting very annoyed and Shippo needs your help gathering wood." Sango spat, adding a touch of venom. Miroku groaned as the youkai taijiya dragged him away from the old man.

"Well, sayonara Miroku-sama. I be back in me home." He shouted, slowly walking towards a wooden shack. Miroku inwardly cursed his luck, missing yet another girl who had potential. Oh well, maybe Sango could cheer him up.

"So, Sango-san. Inuyasha has been getting angry lately?" Miroku asked, his hand wandering closer and closer. Sango finally let go of his ear, quietly straightening her kimono.

"Of course. You know how he is when Kagome is back in her ti-HENTAI!!!" Sango slapped the perverted monk away, thus releasing his hold upon her bottom. "Honestly, don't you ever learn?!" she roared. Miroku sighed on the ground, touching the hot, red mark on his face.

"It was worth a try..." Miroku mumbled.

"Sango-sama!"

The taijiya turned around to see another local villager, Kurumi run towards her. She was an average girl who tended to gossip more often than normal. "Sango-sama! I have some strange rumors!" she shouted, waving her arms around. Luckily she was younger than Miroku's tastes, so she was relatively safe from his flirting.

"Ah, Kurumi-chan. What brings you here?" Sango asked pleasantly. The girl stopped in front of Sango, panting loudly.

"Sango-sama! The other villages have been talking about odd things happening!" Kurumi said. Sango put her hand on her chin, looking very thoughtful.

"Does it have to do with the Shikon no Kakera?" she asked, hoping it was.

"Iie, Sango-sama. There have been reports that several or more hanyous disappeared. They say some mysterious apparition kidnapped them." Kurumi dutifully informed her. Sango blinked, not expecting this kind of rumor.

"Eh? Hanyous? Kidnapped?" Sango repeated, somewhat shocked. At this time Miroku had gotten up, listening in their conversation.

"That is rather strange. Why would anyone or anything kidnap, let alone hanyous?" Miroku muttered. "Very odd. Would you happen to know more about this, Kurumi-chan?"

Kurumi smirked. "Well of course. From what I know, every hanyou that vanished had one thing in common."

"What?" Sango asked, quite curious.

"All of their parents are dead. Most of them had them killed recently." She said, quite proud of her information seeking skills. "No one had really cared about the hanyous, but they were more worried about the hanyous wanting revenge or something."

"So they were assuming that the hanyou were coming together to form a group to get revenge against the humans?" the taijiya inquired. Kurumi nodded, looking very serious about this new piece of information.

Miroku sighed and leaned against his holy staff. For some reason he knew something terrible was going to happen. First the Shikon no tama, then Naraku, and now this. He had hoped that the peace would last a little longer.

"Well I suppose we had better go back. Inuyasha and Shippo are probably arguing about now. Sayonara Kurumi-chan." Sango waved good-bye at the intelligent girl, thanking her for the new piece of data. While Kurumi waved back, Sango and Miroku inwardly groaned about another thing to worry about.

"Let's get going houshi-sama. And DON'T you even think about touching my butt." Sango coldly said, gripping a secret bag of knives hidden within the creases of her kimono. Miroku chuckled nervously.

"Ah, Sango-san... Whatever made you think that I would do something so indecent?"

"Houshi-sama..."

"I'll be quiet now."

"Thank you."

* * *

A/N: Wow, my first Inuyasha fanfic series. And I got this idea during Geometry, too. Well, I hope it's not too cliché in the end. I'm trying to make it very different from what normal fics are about. If it's like a copy, I apologize. I don't recall reading a fic like this though. Tolerate my ignorance, ok Inuyasha readers?

I usually enjoy the series more rather than the fanfiction series.

I also apologize for the lack of Inuyasha himself. He's gonna show up lots in the next chapters.

Ja ne!

Those who sends flames shall be visited by an angry Sesshomaru.


End file.
